


Inktober 2018

by norman_beetle



Category: jacksepticeye, jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: Gen, TW: Knives, TW: alcohol mentions, TW: angst (if you're sensitive to that kinda stuff), TW: body imagery, TW: zalgo, read with caution i guess, tw: alcohol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 13:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 16,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16535231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/norman_beetle/pseuds/norman_beetle
Summary: Hello! I am new to this website, so forgive me for my clunkiness. Baby steps.I decided to turn the official Inktober prompts into stuff for writing instead of drawing (because I am not a great artist, haha), and tried to do some flashback thing about all the stuff that happened in late fall of 2017? That apocalypse, y'know? Anyway, this is just a thing where I messed around with developing plot and stuff, nothing that involves any theories of any kind. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!





	1. Poisonous

**_Poisonous- 10/1/18_ **

_“Drink the poison lightly, there are deeper and darker things than you.”_  
___________

He knew that he was never going to remarry.

Because he knew this, he was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the half-full bottle of whiskey in the far corner of the table. His hat was somewhere. Lost, probably. But, he didn’t care at the moment, because he knew that it was ephemeral and that he’d find it in the morning anyway.

He had had a rough day.

First off, his wife had called, telling him that she wanted a divorce. He was still trying to recover from the mental breakdown he had suffered from earlier today, and he left work early. He could always find time to make up for it, and he prayed that he would be able to have the motivation and the courage to push through it. But, right now, he felt like curling up into a ball and bawling until he was completely stripped of all his tears. Maybe it was dramatic, but he didn’t have time to filter out the emotion. All he could feel WAS emotion. At least it wasn’t so bad. He still got to see the kids on the weekends.

**But she has them. That wicked, wicked woman. Don’t you think that’s unfair? Don’t you think that this is all so unfair?**

He shouldn’t complain about it. His kids were okay. Nothing got dangerous or out of hand. The divorce would go smoothly, and he wouldn’t complain about it, even if she was wrong.

**She’s never going to forgive you, you know. Because of your childish, arrogant nature, she left. She used you. And because of that, she’s gotten away with it. And now, she’s gone.**

Suddenly, the bottle of whiskey looked very tempting.

He got up to grab a glass from the cabinet, the floorboards creaking underneath his feet. He heard them scream “DRINK UP.” Sitting back down, he reached over to grab the bottle. Unscrewing the cap of the bottle, he poured. It wouldn’t hurt. He lifted the glass and downed the contents in three gulps.

**Do you feel it flow? The poison, it’s entering your body, flowing throughout and nulling all your senses. The toxic taste battling the toxic words you’ve been hearing all day in your head. Doesn’t it feel good? To relax and drown out the toxic woman for once?**

“Yeah, it feels… great.” He knew that he was talking to no one, only to himself. But he was the only one he could trust. Why would he trust anyone else now?

 

They were all so pͧ͒͘o̗͙ͥ̃iͩ͌s̜͕̫̉̀̈́o͜n̠̝̔ͮo̡us̷.̆ͭ.ͮ́.̷͔̳̟ͬ̊ͫ


	2. Tranquil

**_Tranquil- 10/2/18_ **

_“When we unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.”_  
___________

He never really knew how loud it was until he had no one around him to make noise. No dog barking, no kids laughing and playing. He didn’t really enjoy the silence, but he eventually learned that he had to live with it. Silence was going to be a very common thing from now on, except for the weekends.

If it weren’t for the weekends, he wouldn’t know where he would be right now.

Drifting through the kitchen, he walked over to the back door and unlocked it. Yanking it open, he stared out into the empty streets. Nighttime had completely swept the block, and he saw no lights in the windows of other apartments. No one was awake except for him, and he didn’t intend on sleeping anytime soon. He hadn’t been able to all week. The anxiety of going to court and signing papers turned his stomach into knots, and the alcohol was the only thing able to push it down. He sighed, and stepped out onto the landing, walking to the edge and folding his arms on the railing.

What was so strange about being here this late at night was that he could hear almost everything around him. The rustling of the leaves on a tree, the faint sounds of crickets chirping, the wind rushing through the whole area. He was bothered by the fact that the wind was blowing his messy hair into his face, but he ignored it.

He would only have this apartment for another month if he was lucky. His friend told him that he could stay as long as he wanted, but he knew that wasn’t true. From his current behavior, his roommate was probably both concerned and annoyed. Sooner or later, he would probably get kicked out.

But right now, he needed to enjoy this moment of quiet. He needed to enjoy this one moment of being completely sober and aware. And even though it wouldn’t last forever, he wanted it to.

He wanted to sit out here forever, staring at the trees and the sky and the moon.

**Seems like it’s a bit too quiet tonight.**

“Go away, I like it quiet.” Again, he was talking to no one. Only the someone inside his head.

**Can’t you occupy yourself with something other than staring blankly at the trees? Come on, there’s a perfectly good bottle of whiskey in the cabinet.**

“Can I please be sober and enjoy my peace for _once_?” he barked. Frustrated, he swept the hair out of his face hastily and glared ahead of him. He didn’t expect any response, but he got one anyway.

**Fine. Enjoy your peace.**


	3. Roasted

**_Roasted- 10/3/18_ **

_“For you to insult me, I’d have to value your opinion first.”_  
___________

“Score! Didja see that, sis?”

“Yep! I got every second of it!” The girl was holding the camera, filming the boy taking a few more shots at the handmade targets on the other side of the room. The boy grinned playfully, holding the plastic NERF gun with confidence (which he had snuck into his room from his father’s possessions, which was also supposed to be off limits, but he didn’t care).

Glancing over at the targets, he frowned when he had missed all of them. He frowned, even more, when he found out he had run out of discs for the gun. He got up and walked across the room to retrieve them. This process continued for quite some time, until the boy had some luck on his side, hitting several targets in a row with quick succession.

“OOOOOH!! DUDE, THAT WAS AWESOME! DID YOU SEE THAT?!” The boy jumped up and down, his smile taking up most of his face. The girl jumped up and down, too, which caused the camera to shake violently, but she didn't care. That was all caught on video! So cool!

But sadly, the sound of their mother's approaching footsteps announced the end of the party. They saw her open the door with an annoyed look on her face. “Kids, please, stop making so much noi-”

She stopped when she saw the NERF gun in her son's hands. If her face wasn't already red, it got redder.

“Where did you find that? Was that in your dad's old room? I told you not to snoop around in there-”

“What? We can't have fun with some toys every once in a while? It's just a NERF gun,” the boy shot back, his voice having a sharp edge.

“Please, it could be dangerous-”

“No, I know the real reason why. Because you want us to forget dad as quickly as possible, so _you_ can push everything away and replace it with something else. I don't care that you want to forget, you're not going to make us forget with you.” The words came out so rapidly and so smoothly, you’d think he had practiced it a thousand times. He had, in actuality, just in his mind.

The mood had suddenly shifted to a very unpleasant atmosphere, suffocating.

Their mother stared at him blankly, blinking several times without speaking a word. Her face went as white as a sheet as she stormed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. The girl looked over at her brother, impressed.

“Roasted,” he noted with a victorious smirk, blowing over the top of the plastic gun like it had been smoking.


	4. Spell

**_Spell- 10/4/18_ **

_“The universe is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”_  
___________

The young magician had been up since three in the morning trying to make this work. Of course, he had next to no luck with any of his attempts. He took a deep breath and tried again.

He focused all of his energy on the object in front of him, a blue coffee mug he randomly pulled out of the cupboard prior. It taunted him in an unpleasant way. Fixing his eyes on the mug, he reached out his hand, his palm open and ready to catch it. If he had any luck, the mug would come right to him.

_“Come on… just make this work at least ONCE. I know you can do it, just focus, and breathe, and-”_

In a split second of doubt, he then saw the mug start to hover a few inches off of the floor, and his heart almost leaped out of his throat. It wasn’t over yet, but he still had hope. He focused until it made his brain start to throb, but he tried to push it down. He was SO CLOSE, and he didn’t need his emotions to mess up now.

Slowly, inch by inch, it hovered closer and closer to his hand. He had to keep himself from jumping up and down from pure joy because he would drop the mug immediately. Instead, he took a deep breath and continued staring at the mug that was inching closer and closer to his grasp.

Finally, he felt the cool ceramic touch the middle of his palm, and he wrapped his fingers around it, a smile appearing on his face. He had done it! Finally, after _four fucking hours_ , he had done the impossible.

A sense of electric adrenaline rushed through him, making him bouncy and unable to keep still anymore. He wanted to jump around his room and scream at the top of his lungs until his vocal chords hurt, but it was so late that his sudden burst of energy faded out quickly. Soon, he felt himself get smacked in the head with the tired stick, and he felt his eyes closing. Taking this as a sign of defeat, he set the mug on his nightstand and literally collapsed into bed, not bothering to throw any of the covers over him.

But he found himself staring at the mug, realizing what he had just done, and who he had just realized himself to be.

He was different.

Special.

No…

 

_Magnificent._


	5. Chicken

**_Chicken- 10/4/18_ **

_“Chicken on pizza? In this economy?”  
____________

“Dude, _everything_ can be on pizza.”

“Says you!”

“Yeah, says me! Chicken is great on pizza, and you can’t change my mind!” He folded his arms and glared at the other man across the table from him. They were sitting in the local pizza joint, and they still hadn’t ordered for 15 minutes. Honestly, it was ridiculous, but he had gotten into an argument he couldn’t get out of.

The man sitting across from him looked completely different when in his secret identity. No one knew that he was the infamous JackieBoy Man, but no one really needed to know. It was a luxury to receive this kind of privacy.

“Jackie, dude, chicken on pizza tastes amazing. I happen to have a very good taste when it comes to pizza, mind you, and you can’t top my elite pizza-seeking nature.” Feeling satisfied, he sat back in the booth, a smile appearing on his face.

“Do you even KNOW where you are? New York is, like, _the city_ for pizza. And bagels. But that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say is,” Jackie rested his elbows on the table and used his hands to gesture along with his words, “you haven’t had REAL pizza until you try New York pizza. Despite your “chicken-loving pizza” bullshit, this pizza will change your _whole_ perspective.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Then beg.” Jackie gave the man a cold stare and stared at his menu, reading it like he had an over-enthusiastic interest in it. The man sighed and gave a large eye roll, grabbing his menu and doing the same. After a couple of minutes, they both looked up from their menus. The superhero in disguise looked at the man with a look of question.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna order a chicken pizza, Chase.”

Chase narrowed his eyes and frowned. “You know me too well, Jackie. I can’t get anything past you.”

“Good, otherwise I’d have a fit over your stupid chicken-shit.”

“Haha, very witty. I suppose you won’t come to your own faults as well, Hawaiian boy?”

Jackie’s face turned into a look of offense, and he leaned over the table to point a finger at Chase’s chest.

“Don’t start on the pineapples, man. I will beat your ass, Brody.”


	6. Drooling

**_Drooling 10/6/18_ **

_ “Sleeping is my drug, my bed is my dealer and my alarm clock is the police.”  
_ ___________

When the office was quiet (which it almost never was), it was the only time the doctor could get some peace. And right now, he spent it sleeping.

The portable fan was set to turn automatically, sweeping the room with a gust of air. Papers were blowing up, although blocked by the heavy books on top of them. The doctor’s office was, as you would put it, an “organized mess”, and had never been anything different. He never really had the time to do cleaning, and he kept putting it off. Of course, he had other things to do. More  _ important  _ things.

The analog clock mounted onto the wall ticked in a methodical manner.

The fan kept running, sweeping back and forth.

Papers kept blowing.

The doctor slept. 

Of course, he felt himself open his eyelids. First his left, then his right. There was something stuck in his throat, but he tried to swallow it down. With no success, he instead sat up, blurry-eyed and sore. The sunlight flooded through the window and onto his face, and he squinted at the harshness. God, he really shouldn’t be up all night at the office. Any more sleep-ins like this and he would fall too behind on his work, and he couldn’t afford that.

Craning his neck, he looked around him, realizing that his room was a total wreck. What made him even more frustrated was that he didn’t know what day it was and what time was it. 

Goddamnit. He hated this _even more_ now.

Glancing over at the clock on the wall, he saw the time; 2:00 PM. it must’ve been a really long nap. Looking down at his desk, he saw a pool of some sort of clear liquid where he had been resting his head. Curious, he reached up to touch his face. He found that the area beneath his bottom lip was wet, and he looked back down at the desk.

“Great. I was drooling,” he muttered to himself, his accent all mumbly and awkward. He considered cursing in German but found no point in doing so. Instead, he wiped the drool off with his sleeve, ignoring the rest on his face. He sighed at stared out the window again, having no interest in what he was looking at. His brain was finally starting to realize that it was awake. 

Today was going to be a long day, and he was fully prepared to accept it as such. If his friend was really in that much turmoil, then it would be a bit of a mess getting him to chill out. Why was he being so reclusive towards him?

Was he that terrible? Probably not. Chase was a dear friend. He would listen to him if he spoke.


	7. Exhausted

**_Exhausted- 10/7/18_ **

_ “A heart that always understands also gets tired.”  
_ ___________

New York was always busy, and the chaos seemed weirdly calming for the young superhero. Listening to the city noises and watching the clogged up traffic below, he checked up on his messages and social media. Nothing all that groundbreaking, but he hadn’t been that up-to-date on things. Best to do it now when he had the free time.

He decided to sit down on the roof, dangling his legs over the edge. He saw that Chase had sent him a message, and he clicked on the notification to read it.

_ Hey, thanks for hanging out with me today, Jackie. i really needed someone to be there. maybe we can hang out again sometime soon? i’m only in New York for a couple more days, so it would be nice if we could hang out one last time. only if you’re not busy with hero work, of course. :D _

Jackie smiled and pocketed his cell phone. He could reply later. Right now, he really needed some rest. New York City was super big, even for a superhero. He felt ready to fall into his bed right now and sleep until noon. In fact, he SHOULD do that. For a change. 

The wind had picked up and blew his bangs into his face. Annoyed, he swept them aside and kept staring down at the city, the bright lights and the honks of horns enveloping him like a trance. It was mesmerizing when you looked at it from this far away.

Of course, he knew he had to go soon. It was getting late, and he was about to pass out from exhaustion. Being a superhero was no joke, and it made his muscles sore as hell. God, if only he hadn’t taken that extra call that afternoon,  _ right  _ after facing off a huge crowd of baddies,  _ maybe  _ he would be in better shape. But noooo, he had to do the extra job because he was fucking JACKIEBOY MAN!

**_FUCK YEAH!_ **

Alright, enough with the self-motivation/denial of sleep talk. He really needed to get back to his apartment. Who knows how late it was? He didn’t really have the motivation to check his phone to find out. Thinking about that also reminded him to text Chase back later as well. He hoped that he would remember that the next morning. 

Jackie stood up and headed towards the roof door, taking one last look at the skyline before heading in. He smiled again. It was worn, but it made him feel better in a strange way. With the chaos going on, it was nice he got some peace and quiet. Man, if only he could go ANYWHERE else. Ah, who was he kidding? New York was his home, and it would stay that way because he liked it that way. The reassurance made him happy, and the smile stuck on his face didn’t falter.

But god, did he feel tired as all balls.


	8. Star

**_Star- 10/8/18_ **

_ “You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.”  
_ ___________

He came to this specific spot every day to watch the sky at night. A bit corny, but he liked to do it anyway. It was a break from all of the flashing lights and the people crowding around him, asking him questions. With his tea and the sky, he could see everything, hear all of the faint noises around him. Peaceful. Just like it should be.

Of course, it wasn’t all that peaceful recently. He had been experiencing strange pains and nightmares that kept him from any sort of sleep for the past three months. It felt like something was trying to get out of him, scratching at his insides. God, it felt awful. Plus, his voice felt hoarse, way more than usual.

At least he wouldn’t need it for now. Silent movies were a godsend at the moment.

So he sat, sipping at his ever growing cold tea and staring up at the stars, like a calming melody to drift him off to sleep. 

_ Jeez, when did you need to get so poetic, James? It’s not like you’re writing a novel, silly you. _

Suddenly, he felt the pain rise up in his stomach, making him instantly panicked. Why did it have to hurt him  _ now _ ? He shakily set his teacup down and clutched his stomach, groaning. He felt that clawing feeling again, that feeling that something was inside of him. 

_ Not now, PLEASE. Not. Now. _

Slowly, but surely, the pain was moving on and dissipating, but left the man in a sort of dazed trance. Confused and still lingering from the pain, he sat back in his chair. He didn’t bother drinking the rest of his tea. He wasn’t all that thirsty anymore, or hungry for that matter. All he felt now was a bit of exhaustion and a lot of numbness in his stomach. 

He still felt himself turn to face the stars up there and thought about how he was a star, too. Just not in the way the other stars were stars. He was a star that got his picture taken. People sent him letters of appreciation and profound respect. He was picked to play all sorts of roles in all sorts of movies.

Except for the one he WANTED to play. 

His own. 

Looking at those stars, he knew he had become one of them, one that would soon die out and explode. But not yet. He was still burning bright, shedding his light with everyone around him, for everyone to see.

Jameson Jackson.

_ A star. _


	9. Precious

**_Precious- 10/9/18_ **

_ “Those who do not know how to see the precious things in life will never be happy.”  
_ ___________

The doctor walked in, holding the door open for the man behind him. They both entered and heard the doctor shut the door behind him with a soft click. They both sat down at the table, and they stared at the floor for a moment in silence, not knowing how to start the conversation. Finally, the doctor spoke up.

“Chase, you’re worrying me. You haven’t answered any of my calls in the last couple of days, and you haven’t answered any of my texts. You need to tell me what’s wrong so I can… can help…” The last words faded out with the hoarseness in his voice, unsure if those were the right words to say. HIs accent shown through without any filter, and he feared that it was too awkward and incomprehensible. To his surprise, Chase responded, showing that he understood him.

“I… feel kinda trapped. Internally. And maybe a bit externally, too, which is partially my fault.” Chase rubbed his left arm and bit his lower lip, making no attempt to keep his hair out of his face. The doctor sighed and closed his eyes for a second, letting any words he needed to say come into his brain. No words came, so he just improved.

“Listen, Chase, I know how that feels. I just don’t know what I can do if you’re blocking out everyone like this. I may not be a psychiatrist, but  _ dammit _ , I’m going to try if it helps my friend feel better,” The doctor assured, not caring about his voice anymore. All he needed to focus his worry on was the situation in front of him. 

“Henrik, I-”

“You’re welcome, Chase.”

“But… but why me?” Chase shifted his weight in his seat, growing more uncomfortable and nervous. Why was he feeling this way? This was his good friend that he trusts. Why was he being so closed off? 

“Because you have something precious. Something that most people don’t have.”

Chase stayed silent, thinking about everything that he had. All he  _ could  _ think about was the things he  _ didn’t  _ have, which made his mood worse. Sensing this, Henrik looked at him with a firm but thoughtful stare.

“You have  _ humility _ . So much of it, it’s actually… quite concerning. But you have all the same, and that is  _ incredible. _ It’s a shame that most people are so full of themselves that they don’t realize that other people exist. It just makes me so pissed off that-”

“I-I get what you’re saying Henrik, I don’t need a lecture right now,” Chase joked, smiling genuinely for the first time in weeks. It felt great. 

Henrik laughed softly, and a smile appeared on his face, too.


	10. Flowing

**_Flowing- 10/10/18_ **

_ “Let it flow through the veins, let it flow like heavy rain.” _   
___________

He was sick and tired of being trapped in the darkness.

He was always trapped in someone’s mind, never able to survive on his own. He had been pushed out  _ too many times,  _ but  _ this _ time, he wasn’t going to let anyone keep him away. It didn’t matter what happened in order for him to get there, he just had to do everything in his power to keep them  _ away.  _

Looking at the darkness around him, he felt nothing but numbing pain under the sick sense of revenge he felt. These  _ fuckers _ were doing everything in their power to make sure he wasn’t coming back. But lucky for him, he was just another 

**_g̥͍̔ͫliť͈͕͗c̝͇̰h͕̚ i̜n ̞̥̞t͓ͪh͖̝ë̥̪ͥ ̞s̗ͦys̄t̙̤̪e̥͔̩͆͋̓m̮,͕̝̟͛ͫͧ_ **

A force that couldn’t be controlled. Sporadic and unpredictable. All of the millions of people seeing everything fixed and normal, then waiting for a violent gust of wind to sweep through and destroy it all again. God, all of the fucking  _ w̼̮͒̆à͍̗ͣiͨͮt̽i̖͔̖n̤̹ͮ̉g…  _

Suddenly, he felt the sharp pain on his neck again, his eyes widening in surprise. When he reached up to touch his neck, he felt his fingertips come away warm and sticky. The feeling wasn’t very new to him by now. Even though he couldn’t see it, he knew that they were red with blood. 

He smiled and took this as a sign. 

Closing his eyes, he submerged himself in another layer of darkness. He felt the blood flow out of the wound and trickle down his neck, and he breathed in and out raspy breaths. Soon, he would take his final course of action. If he wants to get to his goal, he’ll have to go through all of them, one by one. Picking them off would be no easy task, of course, but he could manage. If he had been able to make it this far, then it would be painfully easy.

_ Soon could mean a moment or a lifetime,  _ He told himself.  _ It just depends on the situation and the person who’s waiting. They will have to keep waiting until they have pushed me away for too long. Then they’ll be the ones suffering when they were too late to save their material objects. Their  _ _ pu̒ͦp̰̲pe̥̖ͪ̈t̖͗s̥̙͇̅͒̚.̥̥̯͊͊ͦ _

But he felt a strange but familiar energy flow through him, like the blood from his fresh wound. He could sense it rising inside of him, the overwhelming power that drove him forward. The energy that kept him going, that he fed off of every moment he could savor it.    
  
  


**_Th̘̬̭̫̫̾͑̑̀ͤe̬͘i̖̟̣̬̩͝r̹̲̥̬ ̞̦̱̿ͩ̅f҉̗͓̬͚̥͕̱ē̻̟̟̗̲̍͂ͥ͌̕á͙̹̼͖͕̠̿̆̈ͣ̋̿ͅr̸̈̋ͪ͊ͦͥ.̈͐ ͫ͛̓_ **


	11. Cruel

**_Cruel- 10/11/18_ **

_ “All cruelty springs from weakness.”  
_ ___________

**So, are you up for a task, Chase?**

Chase did  _ not  _ know who was in his head. The voice seemed so familiar, though. What was going on?

“Sure,” He heard himself say, the word escaping from his lips so easily, more easily than before. The thought of that made him shiver. He didn’t usually say words this quickly anymore. Why now, when he was suffering from a hangover? Maybe he was still drunk, and that was why he couldn’t understand...

**I need you to do something for me.**

“Okay.” Again, he spoke so effortlessly, and he felt so… floaty, like he was being lifted off of the ground. But he didn’t want to float away just yet. Who was taking him away? Was it the man inside his head? He hoped not, because it was really nice outside tonight and he was going to see the kids again for the first time in days.  _ Was it always that long before the weekends? _

**Would you be willing to help me? I… I can’t live for too long this way. You don’t want me to die… do you?**

“No. You’re a… friend. Right?”

**Yes, I am. Now, are you willing to help me retrieve a better form?**

Suddenly, he felt his senses awaken again for a split second. Everything was wrong, no, this wasn’t right. What was he doing? This wasn’t the person he _ thought  _ he was talking to. With this desperate moment of clarity, he screamed the words that flooded his brain and echoed through the air, the whole world seeming to freeze in time in a surreal and scary sort of way.

_ “NO!” _

**…** **_No_ ** **? Are you…** **_d͍̩͎ͣͨ́ẽ̖͕̥̫̙̪̿ͫ̌ͨ̾f̣̣̹͕̓̆ͬ͋yin̋̿̃͏͉̝͔g_ ** **me?**

A burst of contrasting color awakened his senses he felt himself getting punched in the gut by an invisible force. It was so powerful that it knocked him backward, stumbling through the back door and onto the floor of the kitchen, his whole body erupting with pain. Right before his eyes, he saw the back door close and lock on its own, and all color drained from his face. He felt himself getting swiftly yanked up by the collar of his shirt and held up in the air, feeling someone’s breath on his face. But….  _ no one was there. _

Then he saw the faint and struggling shadow of a figure form right in front of him, and he understood who it was. At that moment, he understood what  _ everything _ was.

**_A̝r͇̤̟͛͑ͥe ̥͓̬yͥ̀҉o̰͖̮u͠ ̟͖͖ͧͦͭg̶̔̈ͯò̡͇̳̂i͙͔n̻̱̞ͨ̀͛g͙̪̍̈ ̣͔͇̍̓̈͘t̴́̽̎o̵ de̜̅ͩ͢ͅf̜̜͚ͬ̂̊ỵ̟ͨ̍̕ ͕ͧm̟̮̗̒̓̾ë̹́ n̮͈͊ͯͭͅow?͝ Ơ̠̓r̴̟̾ ͉̹ͤ̆͘wil̕l̘̟̀̋ ̘̆y͜o͇̭u̘̙͙ ̮ͥo̡b̈́e͏y ͔̻͎̀͌ͮm̟͚͋̐͜e͠?̹̠̰̇̃̾̕_ **


	12. Whale

**_Whale- 10/12/18_ **

_ “The whales do not sing because they have an answer, they sing because they have a song.”  
_ ___________

_ He was entirely submerged in water, deep below the many levels of the ocean. The water felt cool on his skin, but he got used to it fairly quickly. Looking around, all he saw was muddy dark blue and next to no animal life. _

_ How was he here? And why wasn’t he drowning? _

_ Looking down, he saw that he was still wearing the clothes he passed out in last night, which made him panic. Either this was a very meta-dream, or he was actually stuck in the ocean. He decided not to think about it, in fear of having an anxiety attack and drowning. How the hell was he even breathing up to this point? How long had he been here? _

_ Then he heard the noise behind him. _

_ A loud, low, rumbling noise, one that shook the insides of his skulls and sent waves of vibration all over his body. He whipped his head around to observe, although it was a slow motion because he was fighting with the water. When he looked back, he saw a gargantuan shadow lurking in the murkiness of the water. He could swear that his heart had stopped beat for a split second and that his blood turned numb. _

_ The thing was probably going to eat him sooner or later. But when he tried to swim away, he found out that he couldn’t move. He was stuck there, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Sleep paralysis had to happen at the worst of times, didn’t? _

_ He sighed, the exhaled air blowing bubbles in the water and making him look like a cartoon character. As he watched the shadow move closer, he finally saw what it was. _

_ It was a huge Humpback Whale. And god, did it look amazing. _

_ He watched in awe as the majestic mammal drifted past him in silence, but the rush of the water pushed him back and strayed him further and further into the depths. He wanted to look at the whale some more, but it was now too far away to look up close anymore. His mood got considerably worse. _

_ Once again, he heard the noise of the whale shake him again, even from this far away. A beast this powerful shouldn’t be messed with, and it made its statement crystal clear. If only he could've looked at it more…  
_ ______

The magician opened both of his eyes at the same time and jolted awake. So it was a dream. At least he wasn’t actually submerged into the ocean and its threat of getting swallowed by a whale. But he couldn’t help but envision the scene again. The  _ size _ of that thing, and it’s shape and form… it made him wonder if he could do anything with water.

After all, he  _ was  _ a special one.


	13. Guarded

**_Guarded- 10/13/18_ **

_ “One of the first things people guard is their identity.”  
_ ____________

Two men were minding their own business walking down a busy sidewalk in the late New York summer. Of course, they weren’t aware of each other's existence, but all of that would change fairly quickly.

The first man, a hero in disguise, savoring one of the very few moments he got to be a normal person. Of course, he was decidedly  _ not _ normal, and he knew this very well. But right now, he was just an average guy walking down the street, looking at his phone and listening to music. Not a superhero with the power to stop the weight of three buses with just one hand right here, noperino.

The second man, a young magician, desperately trying to figure out how the hell New York worked. Even though he had lived here for most of his life, he never really ventured out into the bigger and more crowded areas, and the thought of this made him extremely nervous. Keeping his head down, all he could do was to just keep walking.

Unfortunately, for both of them, they weren’t really watching where they were going, and the two men bumped into one another in a very awkward moment of realization. Both of them reacted rather defensively, though, with the hero immediately dropping his phone and throwing up his fists, ready to fight, and the magician letting out a yelp and throwing his arms out full length, his fingers spread like he was expecting for something to shoot out of them (which he did expect, but was disappointed when nothing happened). 

The hero put his hands down when he realized that there wasn’t any danger, and he felt a bit awkward with all of the random pedestrians stopping to stare at them and their peculiar behavior. Most of them moved on several seconds later, and that calmed him down. Bending over to pick up his phone, he was upset when he saw a spider web-like crack from the top left corner of the screen. He also saw the magician put his arms down. He felt stupid for getting so worked up and thinking that luck would strike him twice. He couldn’t control the power that he possessed, why did he think that he could do it now? He shook his head and gathered himself, ready to walk away from the scene. But he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around, his eyes narrowing.

“Look, I… I’m sorry for getting super defensive back there. That was kinda uncalled for, eh?” The hero let out a small laugh but was the only one doing so. The magician frowned.

“It’s… fine. But what are you, some sort of military soldier or something?”

“Not… really.” The hero really seemed like he didn’t want to talk about it because he immediately stuck out his hand, his arm stiff and stable like he was itching for the handshake. “I’m Jackie.”

The magician gave a look of suspicion, then took Jackie’s hand and shook it firmly.

“Marvin.”


	14. Clock

**_Clock- 10/14/18_ **

_ “Tick….. tock…. tick……….tock……”  
_ ___________

The invisible clock was ticking down. The hours. The minutes.  _ The seconds _ . Any day now, and the plan would be carried out.

He knew it.

Sitting there in that darkness had made him go insane, but he got used to his insanity a long time ago. After all, they were quite acquainted with his behavior by now. It only made him even more excited.

His wound hadn't stopped for over a month, the growing sign that his plan was already in motion. It HAD to work.  _ This _ time, he  _ wasn't _ going to screw up and be pushed back into darkness. He didn't want to go back, he  _ couldn't  _ go back. It was already too late. Getting back into reality had been easier than expected, through the weakest one. A little coaching here,  some alcohol there, and he was back in the game.

Humans. They were so unstable.  _ And _ easy to knock out.

No one would believe them if they all said that some demon was trapped in their computers and taking the lives of their playthings. People would think they were insane. Which was exactly what he wanted to do. Show  _ everyone  _ who they were up against. The more to control, the better. And he knew just what to do.  
______

Jack had been sleeping less and less over the course of a few weeks, and he had no clue why or how he had been seeing so many things in his dreams. Even in his head, he had been hearing a clock ticking methodically, without fail. He didn't want to believe it, but he knew this all had to be the work of one force in particular. A force that he didn’t want to return so soon. 

God, how he didn't want to believe that.

Pushing the thought away, he tried to go on with his life. Recording videos and trying to get out of the house, distracting himself from his own mind. It seemed almost thoughtless at first glance, but he soon found out how difficult it was to achieve. The problem was, wherever he went, his mind seemed to chase after him, trying to get at him to give a reaction. 

Then that day in August. That  _ fucking  _ day in August.

What he had never realized.

What  **_they_ ** had never realized.

All this time...

**_The clock had never stopped ticking._ **


	15. Weak

**_Weak-_ ** ~~**_10/15/18_ ** ~~ **** **_8͜͠/͝͞3͢/̢͘1͜7̕  
_ ** ___________

Henrik had gotten the call just that afternoon.

They were both back in Brighton after their business leaves, and it wasn’t even a full week before Henrik got called in. Chase got the summary of it all in just one simple text.

_ Emergency surgery. Didn’t know who it was until after the call. Will get back to you as soon as I can. It’s jack. He is in terrible condition and they don’t know what’s wrong with him. _

Chase’s stomach dropped and he felt his blood freeze. His brain was fighting with the truth, and the overwhelming denial he felt wasn’t helping at all. Why  _ Jack?  _ He… he wouldn’t let that happen to him, a serious injury. No, this wasn’t right, and he had the strange and terrible feeling that Henrik knew  _ exactly  _ the cause of all of this.   
______

Jackie felt it rattling in his bones. An ache, an awakening. Like something was crawling at his insides, trying to get out. He couldn’t move in fear of hurting himself more, so he just stayed in one place as it lingered and sturred in the pit of his stomach. Still, this was all so familiar. But how? When?

_ Unless…  
_ ______

Marvin felt the magic spark at his fingertips. Looking down at his hands, he stared in wonder and confusion as his fingertips burst to life with electricity. He felt an odd power surge through him, although he had the strange thought that the power wasn’t a good one at its core. Marvin took this as an evil omen, which made him question the drive of this outburst. Was it him getting overexcited? Jumpy? No. this had to be something bigger. 

In all his years, even after finding out who he was and what he could do, nothing as interesting and bizarre as this had ever occurred. 

_ Was it fate?   
_ ______

The pain. The nightmares. They were back, even more powerful and painful as before. Jameson couldn’t get his body to stop hurting. The clawing feeling. The feeling that something was trying to make him implode and collapse. Something was trying to warn him, but to warn him of what? 

Why him, of all people? 

_ What role was he going to have to play now?  
_ ______

_ Jack had no clue why this was happening again. He thought that he had been careful, covering up his tracks and trying to keep his mental health in check. Apparently, it still wasn’t enough, and he was slowly growing weaker… and weaker… Where was he? In a void? How did he get here- _

**_“̵̵̸A̸h̨,̵ i͝f ̷̢i͞t ̧i̛s̶n̴̸͜'̴͏t ̶̡̡o͞͠u͏͜͝r͟ ҉̛͢ḑe̡͠ar ͞҉̸J͡͡a͜c̷͟͡kab̶͞҉o̕y.͟”̶_ **

_ “Who… who are you?” _

**_“̴̨O͏̢̕h,̵ ̷̷͢h̡a̕v̶̶͢e̢ ̢҉y̸̴͡ou̕ f͘o͝r̡͜g͏o̡t̴͢͞t̵̢͢e͟n̨̛?͏ ̷O͜r ̷a҉r͏e͞ ͢y͏o̶͡u ̕j҉u̢͜s̵t̷͞ ̨͘t͡o͢͡o ͡a̢f̷r̢a̶̶͢i̢̕͠d͠ ̧͜t͡ǫ ͡r̕em̨͏e͠m̷̛be̴r͘͢͞?”͏_ **

_ “... Anti.” _

**_“A͟h̷,͏ ͝t̸̕͜h̸̡̡at͟ ҉̡̛n̴͜am̴e i̕s̕ ̴l̢i̛̕k̡҉e͢͏҉ ͞m̨͘ưs̡̛i͏̨͜c̶̕͡ ͞t̕o͟ ̨̨m̷͜͠y͘͠ ͏͝ę͜a͡͞r̛s̨͠.̧͏͝ ̧N̷̕o͘͠w͝͡ ͝t̵͏ęl̸̴l҉ m̡e,̧͟ ̷͜h̶̛ơ̶̢w̵̧ ͘͏h̨a̴͝͏v̷̸e͡ ͡y̷͠o̕u҉ ͢͏̛k̨e͞͏p̸t̛͘ m̷e ͟a̵̢͜w̨ay̡̡ ̷f͡o͞r͠ ͢s̴̸͢o͞ ̵͝͏l͘͝o̢͡n͠g?̧̕ ̶̛D̶i̡̡ḑ ̕͡y̴̨o̢u̢ ̢̕g͏͢e̶t̕͢ ͢͟h͏҉e҉l̵̛p҉ ̸̢f̶̨r̵̸o̸̢m̸ ͏҉͏y̵͝o̷͝͏ųr͘ ͢"͞f̵҉rį͏e̴̡ņ͞d̴̡͢s̶"͢͠?͏”_ **

_ “They… they helped me… push you back… all of them know you’re a threat to all of us.” _

**_"̨҉G͏̢o̕ǫ͡ḑ͡.̷̕"͞_ **

_ A piercing shot of pain erupted from his gut and knocked him back several feet, and Jack felt himself collapse into a defenseless pile, with the shadow of his doppelganger looming over him.  _ **_Smiling._ **

**_"͝Y͜o͡҉̨u͠͏ ̧k̸̸n̡̡o҉͠w̴ w͠h҉a̵̕͡t̢ ͟y̧͟͠ơ͝u ̨͘͢a̶̧͜re̛̛̕,̴ ̨͟͠y͢ơ͝u̶҉̢ ̵p̛̛a͜t̢h̨҉e̷t̵̕͡i̵c͘͡͞ ͟͠sa̵c͞k̵͞ ̨o̶͢͞f̨͟ ͜s̸h̶įt.̡"͞_ **

_ The demon kicked Jack in his gut again, adding more pain to the growing pile all throughout his body. Sporadic bursts of static flooded his thoughts and rendered him speechless.  _

**_"̨Yo̷u͝'r͡e͝ ͠WE̴AĶ̸͟!̢̕"͝҉_ **

_ Another kick. _

**_"̶͝A̕͝LL̢ ͡O̵͜͠F͜ ̵̢Y͟͞O̧̕͞U͢!"̴_ **

_ He felt himself getting yanked up by the shirt collar, his gut getting ready to literally explode. He couldn’t give up now… but why… was he trying? Wouldn’t it be easier if he… g̶a҉v̵e i̢n̛…?̧ _

**_"҉P̢a̸͞t̴͜he͢t͟҉i͟͡c,"̸̡_ ** _ The demon spat, throwing Jack back onto the ground like a ragdoll. He felt himself slowly close his eyes and go completely numb, a suffocating darkness surrounding him. Everything in his brain was trying to stay alive, but everything it did just made the process move faster. It was already too late.  _ **_H͜e̕̕͢ ̶̴̴̡͠w̶͏a̛͜͏͏s̵̢͠ ̶͡a̷̶̧͞s̵l̡͠͝e̕e̷̡p̛͠.̷͘͘͜  
_ **

 

**_Y̴͠͡OU̧ ̵̴̸̴͜A̸̢L̵̴͝L̕͏ ̶̴̨K͘͜͢N̕O̶̧̢W̡̕ ͟҉̶̶͢W̧͏H͝͝͝Ą̨̕͜͡T̕͏̵ ̕͞H͞A̶̡̛̕P̴͢P̵̢͠E̸̛N̸E̸̡̡̛͠D̶̶ ̧̨͏͠N̢͝E̵͜͢X̴͜͟Ţ̸͟͞҉.̧͜ ͟͜T̡̛͢H̷̛E̛͘ ̡͜͞͠D҉̶͢͞O̢̧͜͞͡C̛͟T̡̨͘O͟R̵͜҉ ̛͢͡C̶̨͜Ǫ̶͡U̡L̸̸͢͞Ḑ͜N̡̧̢'̸̧͘T͢͝ S̡͞͏̴͢Ą̨͘͡V̸͠҉̴E̴̶̡̧ ̷̡͡͝H̷̷͢͟͝I̡̡̛M͘͟͜͞,̴̵̢̛͟ ̨̨̛A̸̷N̸̸̢͟D҉̷̶͟ ̢͏̛T̸̶͟͠H͜E̡̡̢͢ ̡̨͠͞R̵̕E̴̡̕͠S̸̕͢T҉̧ ̛͝͏̛I̷͏̕S̢̛ ͏̨̕H̶͘͘͝I͏̨̡̛͝S̢͢҉͝Ţ̴̵̨O͘͢͞R̵̷Y̸̵̢̛͞.͞_ **

**_Ą̢̡R̴̸̴͞E̸̴̸͢͢ ̵̶͠͠Y̢͘O͘͟U̶̵҉̕ ̴̶H̸̴A̷͘͢͡P̵̶̢͢P̵̸̛͟Y̧͏͏͠ ̶͢N̸̨Ơ͟͡W҉̸̨?̸̨̕͟_ **


	16. Angular

**_Angular- 10/16/18_ **

_ “A figure with curves always offers a lot of interesting angles.”  
_ ___________

It had now become a tedious game of hide and seek.

All of them were scattered to the winds as soon as they heard of his return. Of course, the meticulous part of all of it was to find them. And they sure as hell didn't want to be found. Otherwise, they would meet the same fate as the doctor.

With millions of people watching him, though, it added yet another difficult challenge to the game. Whenever his work got sloppy, they would already be there with torches, pitchforks, and assumptions. God, they had become a literal  _ cult  _ now. Why was it that so many people cared about their  _ playthings _ ? It just wasn't logical. Of course, he had to remember that humans were certainly  _ not _ logical. They were emotional.

And that was their greatest downfall.

One by one, traces of him started to whisper through the crowds, and hearing his name again gave him more and more to feed upon.

_ Anti is back. Anti is back.  _ **_Anti. Is. Back._ **

Soon, they were back to putting up walls and barricading their forts, leaving him to put on his glorious show once more. After all, they couldn't touch him, even if they tried and tried to get even a  _ millimeter _ closer. It was no use. The damage was already done a long time ago.

He remembered that day. Was it already a year ago? How odd that time seemed to move so fast. But oh, did he remember it all. The carving. The glitching.  **_Holding that knife_ ** . The world seemed to be so simple back then when there wasn't an audience to keep up with. But now, it had just evolved into an exciting challenge, one that seemed to make everything spiral downward. For them, at least. He had made them defenseless. No matter how hard they begged, they were just sitting ducks, waiting for the next  _ big event  _ to happen. Well… they would just have to wait for just a while more. How he loved hanging the word  _ soon  _ over their heads, like some kind of tease. It gave him just the time he needed to hunt down the other pieces of the puzzle. Weaken one of them, weaken them all. A chain reaction.

They couldn't hide from him forever, and they knew that. They were just too afraid to admit it. They locked away the obvious truth from there minds, in hopes that it would keep them safe from him. Of course, he was an internal danger. They couldn’t destroy what was inside unless they wished to destroy themselves as well. 

Oh, how their world shifted at all different angles. Chaotic. Unorganized. It made them unsure and unexpecting. 

Well now, it seemed that he had obtained the high ground. 

And the angular perspective seemed to be a great advantage. 


	17. Swollen

**_Swollen- 10/17/18_ **

_ “You could see it in his eyes. They were puffy from tears.”  
_ ___________

Jack seemed to be unresponsive.

Chase had heard this from the other doctors and nurses of the hospital Henrik worked at, but all of them stated that he had mysteriously disappeared the day Jack came into the emergency room. Apparently, they had heard his screaming from all the way down the hall, but the door was locked when they had finally reached it. None of them remembered locking the door themselves. 

All of this bullshit hitting his brain made him become more and more confused and upset as the day went on. The information pounded down like a sledgehammer, making his head throb uncontrollably. Fortunately, the pain was soothed with some whiskey when he got home.

For a while, he just stared blankly at the wall for what seemed like half an hour. He had found a new “apartment”, which was a huge understatement. This place seemed to be more of a quaint shack than a place to live. He still wished that he would’ve stayed at his friend’s place a little bit longer before he got kicked out. Unfortunately, that person was in a coma now, and to move away from it all, he packed up and booked it to New York, hoping that it would help. It didn’t.

He tried not to think about it.

Then, he felt something warm trickle down his cheek. 

More came. 

Soon, he let out a frustrated sob and started to cry, hunching over and feeling defenseless as he sat there and wept. All of the pain, the lies, the weight of it all had made his brain explode, and all he could think about was the loss of the man who had saved his life. That doctor had worked around the clock to make sure he was going to be okay, both in the emergency room and out of it. How could he just be… gone? And Jack… he’s too strong to just… fall asleep like that. 

Wasn’t he?

His crying had stopped by then, and he felt his feet carry him to the bathroom. He stared at his reflection in the small mirror mounted above the sink, seeing that his eyes were pink and swollen from crying. Damn, he looked like a fucking wreck. 

Of course, all of the questions he had bouncing inside his head wouldn’t be answered. The answers were gone with Henrik, the only person who probably knew what the hell was going on. With him gone and Jack now in a coma, he couldn’t think of anyone else to turn to. He was alone again, just like when he got that call from Stacy.  _ That woman.  _ He didn’t want to think about that day again for the billionth time now. Instead, all he could think about was his eerie solitude. 

**You know, you’re never alone, Chase Brody.**


	18. Bottle

**_Bottle- 10/18/18_ **

_ “Every empty bottle is filled with stories.”  
_ ___________

When Jackie got the word that Chase had just moved into his apartment complex, there was nothing else to do but to pay a visit. He only thought it was fair to visit his friend after all of the chaos that occurred earlier that month, and he couldn’t help but feel pity for him about Henrik. They were all pretty shaken up by it, except for Marvin. That man was a whole other  _ level _ of weird. Sticking out his hands randomly and chanting nonsense words, not knowing or caring about anyone else but his “magic”. Jackie had assumed the man bat-shit crazy, but gave him a place to stay temporarily on his couch, still keeping a safe distance away from him at all times. 

Walking up to the front door of Chase’s apartment, he found that the door was unlocked. Suspicious as to why, he opened it, tentatively stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. When he looked around the apartment, he felt himself frown.

There were whiskey bottles  _ everywhere _ . On the floors, on countertops and the few windowsills lining the walls. All of them were mostly the same brand of Japanese whiskey, but some Jack Daniels were scattered here and there. The more Jackie looked at it, the more sick and disgusted he became. So  _ this _ was the thing Chase was hiding from him all this time? 

_ Why was he doing this to himself? _

Jackie let out a huge sigh and grabbed the trash can from the kitchen he had spotted out of the corner of his eye. One by one, he traveled around the whole place, picking up every last bottle and chucking it in the bin. The more and more he explored Chase’s apartment, the more and more ridiculous places he found whiskey bottles. In the cabinets under the sink.  _ Inside _ his dresser and closet. He even found a few in the dishwasher.

Soon, the whole place had been rid of the infestation of alcohol, and Jackie felt a strange sense of pride by doing so. He was helping his friend stay clean, although he would have to have a serious talk with him about this new problem he had. Knowing that he had  _ just _ discovered this now made Jackie feel stupid. Why hadn’t he noticed it before all the of the other times when things were off between them? He should’ve asked. Or have said something.  _ Anything.  _

Suddenly, he heard a door open behind him, and his head whipped around, his fists slowly closing and ready to punch the possible intruder. He held his breath and looked to see someone standing in the doorway.

“What the hell were you doing?” Chase asked defensively, crossing his arms.

“Cleaning up your addiction,” Jackie retorted.  

Silence broke between the two of them, for what seemed like an eternity. Then, Jackie turned around to face Chase, crossing his arms and holding them tightly.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, you know.”


	19. Scorched

**_Scorched- 10/19/18_ **

_ “I will take what is mine with fire and blood.”  
_ ___________

The sudden electricity from his fingertips had wildly intrigued him. After weeks of puzzled confusion and theories, he was now desperate to recreate it.

Staring at his hand, Marvin concentrated, just like when he focused on the mug. Although it seemed a bit pointless at first, he soon felt the weird rush of adrenaline wash over him and course through his veins. Then, he saw his fingertips spark and burst into flame, and he almost had a heart attack under all of his excitement. His sudden flight-or-fight response urged him to run to the bathroom so that he could turn on the faucet and shove his hand under it to refrain from getting seriously burned, but Marvin just stood there as the flames got denser and rose higher in the palm of his hand.

He had the desire to burn something. 

Looking around, he saw a notebook lying on the coffee table in the living room. Walking over to it, he picked up the notebook, opening it and ripping out a blank page awkwardly with one hand. Turning back, he lifted the paper so that it touched the flames just barely. He saw the corner of the page get eaten by the fire, spreading like some kind of disease. The reason it was so satisfying was lost to him, but Marvin watched as the paper disappeared in his hand, like it never even existed. 

He eyes shifted back to the flames, and he found himself falling into a trance watching them dance and flicker. The more Marvin experimented like this, the more he wanted to test the limit of his power. If he could already move shit with his mind and make his hand combust into flame, then what else could he do? Read people’s minds? Channel water?  _ Travel through time?  _ The possibilities were endless at this point.

He snapped out of it when he heard someone unlock the door off to his left. It was probably Jackie, so he didn’t pay much attention. The most awkward thing to get past though was the weird glances he got from Jackie once he looked at his hand on fire. Adding to his glances was his pale face and worn out expression, looking surprisingly tired. Where had he come from?

“Wha… you… but I thought…

Marvin smirked playfully and wiggled his fingers, making the flame ripple. He took Jackie’s bewildered face as his next question.

“Yeah, this… this is a bit of work.”

“But all this time, I thought… I thought you were just a lunatic who thought he could do some shit with his mind or something. I never even would’ve guessed that-”   


“That I wasn’t crazy?”

Jackie’s silence once again gave the answer; he was agreeing.


	20. Breakable

**_Breakable- 10/20/18_ **

_ “You can only be so strong until you reach the point where you break. Psychically. Mentally. Emotionally.  _ **_Broken_ ** _.”  
_ ___________

_ Henrik had never been here before.  _

_ Where was this place? It was all… dark. Nothing to see anywhere. Hell, he couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face. All he could remember before passing out was seeing the monitor flatline and a sick feeling spread all over his body.  _

_ And that fucking  _ **_laughter. Why that laughter?_ **

_ Looking around, his brain thought for a little while longer before connecting all of the dots. It all made sense now. This was, of course,  _ **_Anti’s_ ** _ doing. _

_ He cursed to himself quietly, feeling like an idiot for not knowing that this was coming. All of the signs had been pointing to his return for so long, but Henrik had just chosen to ignore them. So what, all of it would just disappear in time? Would it just go away and never come back? No, this wasn’t an end, even though he had foolishly thought it was. Because of his stupidity, he had gotten himself trapped somewhere he couldn’t understand and he was faced with a dreadful question. _

_ Did he let Jack die? _

_ Even though the question hung there, he couldn’t seem to do anything but grab it. Was it all his fault in the end? Was his screw up the reason why his best friend was dead? No, it couldn’t be. It was Anti. Anti had made him screw up and Anti was the reason Jack was dead, just like before. _

**_A͘r͠e ̴͢y͟͞o̕ų̛ ̢s̶̴u͏r̢̕͟ę͜ ̨̡̕i͘t҉̨ ̵͢w͏a͡͠sn't҉͞ ̡͞y͢͞o͡u҉̢̨r̸͠͝ ҉f͡a̶҉u̵̧l̢ţ͝?̢̢_ **

_ “I…” _

**_Y̛ou̸̶̸ ͝l̶e̢̨͘t͜ h̷͏i͏̧m͏ ̢̨d̸ie.͏̴͘_ **

_ “No… no, I didn’t…” _

**_L͢ią̸̶r͡.̨̕ ̢_ **

_ “NO!” _

_ Henrik fought back strangely sudden tears and watched as the void around him shifted and distorted, and a faint shadow of a person appeared right in front of him. He felt his stomach overfill with dread and he couldn’t seem to move any part of his body. The shadow soon formed into a psychical body, staring at him with glowing green eyes and a threatening smile. _

**_I͜͢ ҉k̨̛n҉o̴͢͞w̸̶ ͝w̕͘͝h̛̕͡ą̛t͡͏͡ ̶͏y̷͠ou̴̸ ̡̡͝a̧͜re. ͟͟Yo̶҉̴u̡̨ ̴̨̕ą̸re͘ ͏̨b̕r̵ǫ̶k̸͜e̕͏n._ **


	21. Drain

**_Drain- 10/21/18_ **

_ “Go ahead, pour your life down the drain.” _ _   
_ ___________

The next day, Jackie promptly marched over to Chase’s apartment, fully ready to give him a piece of his mind. When the time came, though, it had quickly elevated into a very awkward and distant conversation. 

“All this time… and you didn’t tell me? Jesus, Chase, if I would’ve known sooner, I would’ve  _ done  _ something.” Jackie shook his head, biting his lower lip out of habit. His arms were still crossed and held tightly to his chest, staring at his friend right across from him at the table. 

“I… look, I didn’t want to worry you about this-”

“Worry? All of this alcohol, and you think that me worrying is a  _ bad  _ thing? I want you to be okay, dude. Some worrying is a good thing right now. You need to surround yourself with more people, otherwise, you’re going to go insane. Alright?”

“I-I… I know that you’re looking out for me, but you have things to do. Maybe moving to New York was a bad idea after all-”

“No, it wasn’t, Chase. Trust me. It’ll be better for you in the long run, I promise.” Jackie’s eyes lowered to the floor and his expression softened slightly. Either Chase was going to keep defying his reasons and keep bogging the conversation down, or, miraculously, agree to his terms. 

Chase didn’t answer him for almost a full minute, shifting uncomfortably in his seat like he always did when he was nervous. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked up at Jackie, saying his response rather dryly. “Fine.”

Surprised by his cooperation, he nodded. “Good answer, Brody.”

Feeling satisfied with his persuasion, his eyes immediately locked onto the already opened whiskey bottle on the table. It looked new. He narrowed his eyes and snatched it up swiftly with one hand, turning on his heels to walk into the kitchen. Chase didn’t say anything, and Jackie was grateful that he didn’t. Strutting over to the sink, he stared at the bottle before looking back at Chase sitting at the table.

“Rule number one. No more of this bullshit.”

With that being said, he tipped the bottle over and let all of it spill into the sink and down into the drain, swirling and flowing down in a gratifying sort of way. When all of it had disappeared, he chucked the now empty bottle into the trash can nearby. Chase had watched all of this unfold, awestruck and weirdly conflicted.

“Rule number two,” Jackie spoke firmly, no hint of uncertainty in his voice.

“Don’t hide anything from me ever again. From now on, we’re honest with each other. Got it?”


	22. Expensive

**_Expensive- 10/22/18_ **

_ “The best things in life are free. The second best are very expensive.”  
_ ___________

The blinding flashes of cameras blinked in his vision when he shut his eyes tight. There were the echoing sounds of reporters all around him, and he felt congested and claustrophobic. Many people asked him many questions but were garbled together as nonsense all layered on top of each other, making him have no clue where to start or to even start at all. He pushed down the uncomfortably large lump in his throat with a dry swallow and took a deep breath to steady his mind.

“Mr. Jackson, what are your thoughts on your successful new role in one of the most awaited films of this year?”

“Well, I-”

He was interrupted by the sudden voice of his director behind him. “Yes, he’s very excited to be a part of my movie. I’m sure it’ll be an interesting experience with someone as talented as him,” He announced, hiding his disgusting rudeness with a flash of a smile. James shook his head and stared at the floor, expecting it to start a conversation.

“With the popularity of silent movies, how do think this will impact your career, Mr. Jackson?” This time, Jackson didn’t get to even speak before his director cut in with  _ his _ response.

“I doubt that anything will harm Mr. Jackson’s career at this moment of time. The increasing likeness in silent film makes him a very busy man. Speaking of busy, no more questions for today, folks. That’s all the time we have, I apologize. Thank you for your time.

With that, the mob of reporters soon filtered out, and Jackson was left facing his reporter with a look of disdain and annoyance. He took another deep breath. “You ignorant  _ twat _ .”

His director flashed another grin, clearly acting oblivious to his anger. “What? I answered the questions.”

“The questions that were meant for  _ me _ . They come because they want to hear  _ my _ opinion.”

“No, they come because they only want to see your face. Don’t forget that I’m the whole reason you’re here in the first place. You act. You play a part and you play it well. That is what is expected of you, James.”

Jameson narrowed his eyes into threatening slits of frustration and boiled-up anger. “I’m not a  _ toy _ . An ornate play-thing that… that has a  _ price tag _ . Jesus Christ, do you think that talking to me like a child helps the situation at all?”

“ _ Watch it, Jackson. _ That lip will cost you your career if you keep it up any longer.”

Now being backed into a corner, all that Jackson could do was shut his mouth and nod, unfortunately, defeated.


	23. Muddy

**_Muddy- 10/23/18_ **

_ “The mud may be washed off, but the memories will never fade.”  
_ ___________

Marvin had ventured out into the lot behind the apartment complexes late at night in the rain. Of course, he was doing this only for sincere magical purposes. Why else would he suffer from being cold and wet in the middle of the night?

As he glanced around, he saw nothing but the rusty trash bins and pieces of debris scattered about. Some bricks were stacked together in the far corner of the lot in messy rows, and everything was covered with a thin splotchy film of mud. He ran his fingertips over the lid of the trash can and came away with mud on them. He wiped it off on his jacket and stepped away again. Just as he was about to test his newest theory, he felt his stomach lurch and he was knocked backward by an invisible force, stumbling and almost falling straight on his ass. Suddenly, the noise of the rain seemed to deafen like it had a filter put over it. Then he heard a voice.

**“Ah. I'm afraid that we haven't met quite yet. Marvin, by chance?”**

Marvin looked up, confused to notice that no one was standing in front of him. More than that, how did the voice already know his name?

“Yeah, that's my name. And you are?”

**I'd like to keep that anonymous for the time being. What I want to know is the confirmation of a fact. Can you actually do magic?**

Suspicious but still willing, Marvin lifted his arm up, feeling the drops of rain touch down on his hand. Focusing all of his energy, he managed to ignite a tiny flickering flame in the palm of his hand, just like when he had done it a few weeks ago. Surely, this was a sign that he was getting better at his gift. 

**Incredible.**

Marvin nodded in agreement to the voice in his head.

**This gives me all the proof I need. Well, I guess I best be going. Lovely chat with you, Marvin. Hope we can chat again… real soon.**

Then the voice was gone, and the invisible force once again knocked Marvin back. This time, his footing was so off that he fell backward and landed right onto the cold, muddy concrete. The mud splattered all over his clothes, and it planted a very annoyed frown on his face. Whoever this voice was, they weren't very polite. Still pondering this, he managed to pull himself up and try to wipe some of the mud off of him before heading back inside. At this point, it was the best thing to do, since it was raining heavier and heavier now, but the odd feeling and chills he felt seemed to be from more than the pounding rain.

_ Who was that voice? _


	24. Chop

**_Chop- 10/24/18_ **

_ “It's done, it's over. the part of you is gone and never coming back.”  
_ __________ 

_ Henrik was awoken to the sound of a high-pitched ringing in his ears, making his head throb uncontrollably. When his eyes slowly adjusted to the inky soulless black of the void around him, he started to sit up, wondering why he was lying down on the first place. Had he been knocked out cold without realizing it? Maybe, he didn't remember falling asleep on his own. _

**_O͟͟͟h ͡͡g͟ǫo̵d,͜҉ ̨͟y҉̵̢o͏u̢̕'̴r͢e ͘a͜҉wa̕͢͟kę.͠_ **

_ “What do you want?” Henrik spat, not caring about the thickness of his accent at the moment. All he thought about was the anger boiling deep inside of him. He felt like he was slowly getting ready to explode. _

**_I͟ ҉m͟e͏t̸ ơ̡͡nę͘ o͢f͢͠͠ ͞y̶̸o̶u̸͜r̷ ̛͢f̵͡r͜i̶͞e̛n̨͞d͜s t̕o̧͢d̛ay.͢͟ ͘͘͠T̶h͞e̛ ̷m̕a͏͞g͟i͠c͜ian̨͘.̸͟_ ** _   Anti had completely ignored his question, but that subsided as confusion crept up in the back of his mind.  _

_ “Who… what magician?” _

**_S̛o̕͟ ͜y͘͜o͏̕͟u̵ ̶͝d̷o͠n̛͏'͘t̷͜ ̷k͏͏n̡͘o̷w ҉͟h̨̛i̴͜͢m̶̕?͟ ̸̶͢In̷͘͝te̢͝r̨ȩ͟s̴t͢i̴ņ̛g͡.͢͟._ ** _ Henrik frowned. This conversation was clearly going nowhere, and Anti was trying to keep it that way. A sigh escaped his lips as he slowly stood up. But, as soon as he did, he was knocked back down again, a sharp wave of brief pain passing through his body before he sat back up again.  _

**_No͠ ̶̢͡nơ̶, ҉͡H̕҉e̡ņ̕͟ri͞k̵̛͞.͘͜ ͢͠W̷̴e̡̧ m̸͏u͝s̴͘t҉ ͝n͏͘͡o̧t̢̧ ͞͝b̴̛e d͠ǫ̵i͘n̛͝͡g ̡̛̕t҉ḩ͞͏a͠͞t̨._ **

_ “What the… what the hell are you trying to do to me?” _

_ Anti laughed again, the one that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.  _ **_I̕͡'̴͜͢m̨͞ te̸̸ac͡h҉̵i̕n̷g͝ ̷̨yo͡u̸͟ ͏͝to̡ ͠o̡be̴҉y ̷͞m͡͞e.͜ ͘͜͠D̷̨i̶͜d̕͠ ͠͏҉I̴̷ say͡ y͢͟ou͜ ̧͠c̡̧o̢u̕l̵̷d̢̛͟ ̛͜s͞͠t̢̕a̶nḑ͠ ̷̢̛u͠p͞?_ **

_ Forcing down a gulp, Henrik shook his head. He became more and more unsettled by the glaring green eyes staring at him malevolently, and the distortion of reality flickering like a flame. There was a very suffocating and extended silence. _

**_.̢.̕͟.̛͡Do ̵͢y͝͝o͘͜u̸ ̢kn̛̛͟ow͘ w̛h̢͟a̵̧͝t ̴͏s͘u̶r͏g̛e͜ry͏ ̕fee͜l̷s ̛͏l̛i̛k͢e ͘wi͏t̷̨͟h͢o͟u̷͠t̨ ͘a̢n͟͝͠e̸s͠t̸͞h̸̡et̛͟i̕͢c?͘͝_ **

_ Henrik felt his blood run cold. Something told him that this was no longer about the fabled magician they were discussing earlier. _

**_Im҉҉a̸̕gi͢n҉͏e̢͢ ̛t̴̸h͢e̴͞ fe҉el͝in͞g ͞o̢̕͞f̸̡ ̴̨y̷̨o̢u̶͝͝r͟͠ ̷̶͟l̸̢i̶mb҉͢s ͡͝b̸̧eį͞n̶g ̧͏cho̢͞p͜p̸e҉̛͠d̸͜ ̵of͏͠f͜.̷̧.̛.͘͡͏ ̴͞o̷҉n̵͏̛e̡̢ ͝by̕ ̸̢͜o̕n̨͢͡e̶͡.͠͏.̕͠͞. ̷̸̢an̴d͢͢͜ ̶̧y͜o̵̧u͜ ̛͢wo͟͟ul̵d҉͝ f̶ȩe͘l̷̨ ͘͟A̷̢͟L͝҉L̛͢ ̧o͟͡f͢͡ ͏i҉͠͞t̴̵.̨͞._ **

_ Henrik couldn't seem to think of any more words to spill out of his mouth to counter Anti's. The horrific thought made him sick with fear. _

**_B͢ec͠a̵u̶s̢̢e ̕i҉f̕͏ y͜͞ǫu ̶d҉̡͜o҉n̡͏'t̶͟ l̛͘i̴s̸̡͠t͏͘͢e̶n̶ tơ̧ ̡͝m̵̛e̕͡͝..̴̧.̶  T̗̟͞h̨͇͈̝̥͚̻̬ͅa̩̟̝̝͜t͖̣͘ͅ'̨̥̰̫͕̟͓͓̞͟ͅş̨̮͓ ̶͕͝͞e̵̪̖͍̭̩͙x̷͈͓̜͍͇ͅa͍̠͖̙̹͈̜̕c̠̰͕͉̮͕̠̙͞t̤͈̗̦̩ḷ̺̮̱͓̭̞͖y͏҉͍͕͙ ̝̻͈w̳̖͍̘͉̘͍̤͖ẖ͚͓̹̠̰͘͘a͍͖̜͈̙͞ͅt͔̥͈̗̙̺ ͇̻͕̣̱̫̫͎w̴̢̯̱̣̹̲̙ͅi̴͎͚̤͞l̵̥͕̖̮̟͍͘ͅl̛͇̥̙̳̬̰͘͢ͅ ̶̹̮̜͔͢ḫ̕ą̷̹̼͉̠̝p̯͝p̢̳͔̳͍̳̟͚͢e̷̗͈͍̖̝͜n̴̨̯̤̗͝ ̶̤̯̤͚̦̟̣̦̩͞t̪̘̥̪̰o̘͔͍̜͈̣̯̠̜ ̸̴̧̠̗̼̰̞̘̲y̴̮͔̞̘͉̹͔̠o̴̧̮̖͇u͏̛͈͉̺̺̭͖̮̘̬.̢̦͟͠ͅ_ **


	25. Prickly

**_Prickly- 10/25/18_ **

_ “A cactus is just really an aggressive cucumber.”  
_ ___________

When Jackie walked over to Chase’s apartment, he decided to bring Marvin along as well. Chase’s mood had gotten only a little bit better since he had visited a couple of weeks ago, with Jackie checking in on him as much as he could without running behind on his hero duties. It was difficult to balance being both a superhero and a mental counselor at the same time. The solution? Get a cactus.

It would give Chase something to take care of when he wasn’t seeing his kids on the weekends, and having a nice little plant buddy would be a good thing, right? At least  _ he _ thought it was, anyway.

At first, Jackie was afraid Chase wasn’t home, but he was relieved when he heard the door open and see Chase’s weary face, along with his worn smile. Seeing the serious bags under his eyes make Jackie a bit sympathetic. Of course, Marvin was too busy raising an eyebrow at almost every single thing in the entire apartment, not even bothering to say a word. Eventually, Jackie walked over to him and nudged him in the shoulder, gesturing to the cactus, then to Chase. Marvin snapped back into attention and gave a nod, walking over to Chase and presenting the cactus with both hands.

Chase laughed. A long, hardy laugh. “What? Is this supposed to be a joke?”

Jackie frowned. “No, it’s a gift. We thought that you might want a little green in your apartment for a change. Cacti don’t take much water, and you can just put it in the windowsill over there-”   


“Yeah yeah, I get it. Thanks for the offer, though. I guess…” Chase looked at the cactus, then the strange bewildered face of Marvin. He took the cactus somewhat reluctantly and walked over to put it on the nearby windowsill for the time being. He looked back at Marvin again. “Who’s this, Jackie?”

“Oh, this is my new roommate, Marvin. I thought I told you about him.”

“I… don’t recall any conversation going like that. But still, uh,” Chase walked closer to Marvin and stuck out a stiff hand, “Hello, Marvin. Nice to meet ya.”

Marvin hesitantly took Chase’s hand and shook it. He seemed so out of touch with reality by the look of his face, you’d think he was perpetually spacing off. Chase ignored it for the time being.

“Here, how about we all sit down and have something to drink. I’ll make some tea if you guys want it,” Chase offered. Jackie nodded, and seated himself, Marvin doing the same, but slower, looking so lost and helpless in his surroundings. 

Then, the words just blurted out of his mouth faster than he realized.   
  


“I heard a voice talk to me last night.”


	26. Stretch

**_Stretch- 10/26/18_ **

_ “He wasn’t sure how long the truth would be bent and stretched to keep him safe.”  
_ ___________

When Marvin spoke those words, it was Chase who abruptly stopped the tea he was making. He stared at Marvin for a long time, not saying a word. The tension made Jackie uncomfortable, and he found himself right in the middle of the awkwardness. Trying to help, he spoke up. “Chase, are you okay?”

Chase's gaze broke and he blinked several times in strange concern. He shuffled over to the table and quickly shoved himself into a seat, looking at Marvin again. Marvin, of course, had no clue what the hell was going on and gave a look of concern and a glance of question when his eyes darted over to Jackie for a brief moment. Jackie shrugged. Chase took a deep breath. “Marvin, I… what did the voice sound like?”

“It was definitely male, but I couldn't quite hear what he was saying because his voice kept cutting out at random intervals. He was strangely interested in my magic, though.” 

“Magic?” Chase looked at Jackie for an explanation.

“My roommate can make fire with his hands.”

“Bullshit,” Chase argued, until Marvin quickly demonstrated. 

“Huh… not bullshit, then. Look at that. But beside the point.” Chase quickly forgot about the fire and turned back to Marvin, his expression wild and curious. “Why was the voice interested in your magic?”

Marvin shrugged. “Don't know. He seemed nice, in an odd sort of way.”

“That's the same thing I thought…” Chase muttered to himself, his eyes darting around like they were connecting the dots. In his mind, he was doing that very same thing. Marvin was still confused, and Jackie soon became fed up with the lack of context. “Chase, please explain to me what the fuck is going on,” Jackie snapped.

His borderline-angry voice made Chase look up and focus back on the people in front of him. He struggled to come up with words to say in response. 

“I, uh, well… it's a stretch, but I think I experienced the same thing that Marvin did, and with the same voice.” When Chase got nothing but surprised and confused looks, he shook his head. “I know it doesn't make sense, but-”

“You… you think that something, or someone, is trying to communicate with us?” Marvin asked, puzzled. 

“Maybe. did you feel anything when he talked to you? Like chills or something?”

“No,” Marvin stated, thinking that he could afford to stretch the truth just this one time.


	27. Thunder

**_Thunder- 10/27/18_ **

_ “It provides ambiance.”  
_ ___________

It had become a very tedious process getting everyone to agree on a team effort. Chase was able to connect dots quick enough to think that whatever voice was talking to both him and Marvin had something to do with Henrik's disappearance in some way or another. The problem now was figuring out where and when to start.

Sitting around the frequent meeting table in Chase's apartment, they discussed a plan of action. It seemed oddly rainy in New York tonight, and the forecast had even called for a thunderstorm. That information was confirmed when they saw a flash of pure white followed by a loud boom outside the window. Chase decided to make some more tea.

“You know, all of this raining keeps reminding me of the other day. When I heard the voice. There was something else off about it.” Of course, when he got looks from both Jackie and Chase, Marvin pretended to be very interested at picking at his fingernails, wishing he hadn't said anything.

“What else was off?” Chase asked, suddenly very interested in the conversation. Marvin just shrugged. “He sounded familiar. Like a friend I've known or a voice I've heard before. Odd, right?” 

Chase shook his head. “Not odd at all. I felt the same way. Where had you heard the voice before?”

“I think… it sounded like you were talking to me. Or Jackie. More like Jackie, but weirder. I didn't feel like Jackie was in my head, but I just-”

“Woah woah woah, hold on. The voice sounded like me? That doesn't make… sense…” Jackie's words faded, but he shook his head in denial and thought as the rest of his sentence. The confusion on Chase's face, however, cleared up rather quickly. 

“Then it is. It is the same voice. But… how does it tie to Henrik? I never heard him talk about voices or anything, but maybe Jack…”

Marvin perked up in interest. “Jack? Who's that?” 

“A friend of ours,” Jackie responded quickly, trying to prevent Chase from answering himself. Marvin frowned, but Chase gave Jackie a sideways glance of thanks before continuing. His conclusion, though, seemed abrupt without any consolation from the other two. 

“So, we're gonna start looking at the hospital. If Henrik left any clues at all, then that would be the first place to look.”

Suddenly, there was another blinding flash of lightning, and the thunder booming silenced them all.


	28. Gift

**_Gift- 10/28/18_ **

_ “They say that yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.”  
_ ___________

_ Marvin found himself in the lot again, as rainy and muddy as ever. But this time, when he looked down at his clothes, he realized that he wasn't getting wet.  _

_ He knew that he was dreaming again.  _

_ But why here, in a place he's already been to before? Was the voice going to appear again? He didn't know.  _

_ Suddenly, he saw a faint shadow of a human start to flicker in front of him, looking warped and out of place. A sense of chills washed over him and he watched as the shadow shaped and molded into a humanoid figure. A man, wearing all black and wearing a wicked grin. His hair was the color of emerald and his skin looked pale and sickly. He stared at Marvin without speaking a word, and Marvin suddenly knew who was in front of him.  _

_ The voice. _

**_Hello, Marvin. It's nice to see you again._ **

_ Marvin couldn't seem to speak. It was psychically impossible. _

**_It seems that your friends are interested in finding me, as well as that “Henrik”. But you don't know what will happen if you try searching, do you?_ **

_ Marvin couldn't answer.  _

_ The man laughed. A high-pitched, unnatural laugh that pierced Marvin's ears with an unbearable ringing. He saw the man walk closer, drifting past him while picking up the collar of his shirt. Marvin felt himself get quickly swept off his feet and dragged behind, stumbling like a newborn fawn and almost landing ass-first on the muddy concrete once again. In one swift motion, he was pinned against a brick wall, being held up by the collar of his shirt. His breathing got suddenly heavier.  _

_ The man continued to smile.  _

**_You will die. You don't want to die, do you?_ **

_ All Marvin could do was give a terrified shake of his head, trying not to break down in panic. _

**_But I'll give you one piece of advice._ **

_ The man leaned closer to Marvin, his eyes flaring neon green. Marvin dared not flinch. _

**_Use your gift._ **


	29. Double

**_Double- 10/29/18_ **

_ “People of double standards never experience happiness.”  
_ ___________

Marvin agreed to something that night. Something that he didn’t tell Jackie or Chase the next morning. 

He promised to keep having conversations with the voice in all black. He told him that he would teach him about his magic and where he came from. Marvin, of course, had wanted to know this information for so long that it was almost impossible not to accept. Weirdly enough, it seemed so effortless that it was almost involuntary. 

So, every night, he wandered into the lot behind the apartments and talked with the voice all night. Sometimes on muggy evenings, sometimes on rainy evenings. Any evening, they were out talking. 

The voice in all black told him about using time and space and using it to his advantage. He learned how to make the flames from his palms grow higher and lower at will, grow vines from his fingertips, and channel water with his hands. The voice told him he was a very fast learner, and Marvin took a strange sense of pride from that compliment. But around his other friends, he was different.

With Chase and Jackie, it was all about going  _ against _ the voice in all black. They were searching for their “Henrik”, talking about clues and asking Marvin more questions about the dreams and thoughts that he had. In the beginning, he told them the truth but remembered about the things the voice had said to him. 

**_You will die if you go searching. You don’t want to die, do you?_ **

So Marvin lied. He lied and lied and lied to his friends, learning about their plans than going off to the voice in all black and telling him about their “Henrik”. Every time, the voice smiled and said,  **“You’re such a good friend, protecting them like this. The more you tell me, the more protected your friends will be. It will prevent them from searching and falling into my trap. Keep on telling me, Marvin, and I’ll teach you more magic in return. You got that?”**

And every time, Marvin nodded, feeling like a child getting a reward for tattling on his siblings. He went off, not knowing about the dangers of being trapped in this deal. Soon, it became a methodical routine. Soon, he was living a  _ double life. _

As weeks went on, the last week of October grew closer and closer, Marvin grew more and more restless. The plan of Jackie and Chase’s was coming to a close, and they were getting ready to travel to Brighton in order to find “Henrik”. Marvin often tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep because he was scared for his friends, even if they went against the voice in all black. They were going to die if they searched.

So, Marvin was going to do something about it. 


	30. Jolt

**_Jolt- 10/30/18_ **

_ “He jolted like lighting, quick and spontaneous.”  
_ ___________

The production for the movie was already well into play (no pun intended) at this point, and the endless routine of filming hammered away at Jameson’s sleeping schedule, which became apparent when he found himself  _ literally _ sleeping  _ on  _ the job. 

When he awoke, he found himself in the studio, sitting at a table on one of the sets. He blinked. Once. Twice. A third time for good measure. He glanced around the cold, dark, empty room, not a single person in sight. He was all alone for the first time in weeks. No reporters, no cameramen, no  _ director _ . Jameson finally felt at an odd peace with himself. Turning his gaze back in front of him, he looked at the camera placed there, off and silent. He smiled at the sight, the camera that, for once, wasn’t filming him. 

Then, without no human influence, the camera turned on.

Jameson saw the light emit from the machine, hearing it whir to life and send a beam of light directly into his face. He squinted at the brightness, quickly jerking his hand up in front of his now pale face and coughing at the upbringing of dust. He watched in horror as the camera  _ moved on its own _ , sweeping the room with its blinding light. Then, it slowed down to a crawl and inched closer back to the center, stopping again right on his face. 

There was a ringing in his ears, paired with the maniacal laughter similar to a jackal. Jameson ducked under the table, cowering in fear as the laughter got louder and louder, pounding his skull and nulling his senses. The pains from before erupted at full force, making him almost suddenly vomit from reflex. He felt himself uncrumple from the ball he crumpled himself into and get pulled from underneath the table  _ towards the camera,  _ which was  _ exactly  _ the place he  _ didn’t want to go.  _

But he felt himself stand. He felt himself obey to the command of the person who was moving him without his consent. Jameson stared into the camera lens, regardless of the light burning his eyes. He just couldn’t help but be mesmerized…

He heard a voice inside his head, familiar but distorted. It kept cutting out with every other word or so, but the voice made its intentions crystal clear. 

**Jameson Jackson. Such a shame to meet you under these circumstances. But I am in need of your presence.**

“Where… are we going?” Jameson heard himself whisper. The voice laughed again, glitchy and warped.

**_Why, into the future, dear James._ **

He lurched forward, feeling himself getting jolted  _ into  _ the camera, getting sucked in like air. In the flash of one single moment, he was gone. 


	31. Slice

**_Slice- 10/31/_ ** ~~**_18_ **~~ **_1҉7̕͡  
_ **___________

When Jackie, Chase, and Marvin touched down onto European soil, it was go time from the moment they left the airport.

With Chase driving through Brighton to the hospital (and Jackie and Marvin in the back), it was pretty smooth sailing from there. They saw kids along the streets wearing costumes and holding candy pails. Halloween looked bright and colorful, and the leaves were all shades of warm colors. Marvin nervously wrung his hands and pouted in the corner. Almost a week in advance, he was trying to convince the other two not to go on this search party, but Chase wouldn’t have it. From the looks of it, he almost seemed bitter and angry. Jackie had no choice but to accept as well.

So there they were, heading to their inevitable doom, and Marvin could do nothing to stop it.  
______

When they got to the hospital, they stood at the entrance, silent for a few minutes. The air felt suddenly difficult to breathe in, suffocating. A sigh escaped from Chase’s lips and he turned towards the others. “Ready to find Henrik?”

Jackie nodded, but Marvin didn’t even flinch, nor look at them at all. Chase took the hat he brought with him and put it firmly on his head, his hair pressing down and into his eyes. He pushed it aside with not much effort and a grave look swept across his face.

“Then let’s go find him.”  
______

The halls were surprisingly sparse and cold. When they passed the rows and rows of rooms, they saw very few nurses and doctors roaming in and around them. Of course, all of the staff gave them concerned and questioning looks as they walked past. Chase, however, ignored these looks. He was on a mission to find his friend. He wasn’t going to stop now, especially when he was this close for the first time in weeks. Taking the lead, he pushed on, turning corners left and right, almost running down hallways as he could feel the feeling of _getting closer…_

Making the final turn of the final corner (with many complaints from Jackie), they soon found the operating room at the end of the final hallway.

 _That room is where it all happened,_ Chase thought. _That was the room where Henrik disappeared, where Jack was moved into a coma. That was the room where the voice dwelled that night._

He had many other thoughts but realized which ones were going to move him forward. In the end, he moved forward anyway, completely blinded by his own goals. For a while, he forgot that Jackie and Marvin were even _there._ They didn’t matter. Not right now, anyway.  
______

Chase found the door to be unlocked. Pushing it open, he peered inside to find no one. He moved on, walking inside the medium sized room and snapping his attention to the very first thing he saw; the bed in the middle of the far wall. The sheets were spotted (covered in certain areas) with dry blood, as well as blood staining the tiles on the floor near the area. The strange and sick thing was that no one had even _bothered_ making an attempt at cleaning it up at all.

The moment the other two men stepped inside, they both went pale as ghosts. Marvin scooted closer and clung onto Jackie’s arm for dear life, feeling himself shiver ever so slightly. Jackie couldn’t think of anything else to say but just the word “Blood”. Chase stepped closer, even when his own gut was feeling screaming at him to stop.

“Looks like a sign of struggle, if there was this much blood everywhere. I'm gonna check cabinets and drawers. Feel inclined the do the same, if you want,” Chase muttered, his voice wandering off as he started opening doors and drawers. “If you find anything, tell me.”

With nothing else better to do, Jackie and Marvin broke off and searched in separate directions from each other. After a few minutes of droning silence, Jackie perked up. “I think I found something!”

The other two rushed over to Jackie’s side and peered into the drawer he had opened. When they looked, they found that it was a knife and nothing like a tool used in a hospital. More large and broad, like a knife you’d find in your kitchen. The air became hard to breathe again, and the room went silent like everything was holding in its breath. The knife was most certainly not cleaned off, with red-almost brown- bloodstains on the blade. Chase broke the silence a few seconds later by whispering, “That’s fucking unsettling.”

Agreeing, Jackie just closed the drawer and they all left it alone.

Silence lingered on as they went back to their separate corners, searching and scanning and filing through everything one last time before they all gave up. So far, the bloody knife was the only thing that was out of place. Chase let out a frustrated sigh and fixed his hat. “Damnit. I really thought we’d find _something_ of use.”

“What? Did you think we would just _find_ Henrik in here?”

Chase grew deathly quiet, his eyes snapping to Jackie and burning a hole in his head. His face twisted from frustration, to hurt, then to frustration again. Jackie’s eyes widened and he turned pale. “I-I mean, I didn’t mean to sound to ru-”

“Just forget it,” Chase hastily muttered, turning on his heel and walking out the door without looking back.

“C-Chase, wait!” Jackie sprung into a run and ran after his friend, now leaving Marvin completely alone. He stopped and stared at the wall for a few moments, then to the blood-stained bed and the drawer where the knife was located. The voice was not who he said he was, that was for sure.

After all this time, Marvin had to believe that Chase was right. Of course, he was right. This had gotten way too far out of hand.

Marvin shook his head and cursed quietly to himself and he walked out of the room and after the others. They were already halfway down the hall, and apparently into a heated argument. Marvin picked up his pace but felt like lagging behind them to keep out of the fight. What he heard within earshot were things he didn’t quite understand.

“Henrik is gone, Chase.”

“You can’t say that!”

“All I’m saying is that he’s probably… he’s probably not coming back. No one can find him-”

_“I’m going to find him, Jackie.”_

Marvin walked a little bit faster to catch up to them. When he appeared by their side, they barely even seemed to notice him there. The argument got worse. Marvin tried not to get too involved in listening.

“He is gone. I can’t tell you anything else. I’m sorry, but if they haven’t found Henrik by now, it’s a lost cause-”

“My friend is _not_ a lost cause!”

“That’s not what I’m saying-”

“That’s exactly what you’re saying! That’s what everybody fucking says to me! Henrik is _gone_ , Jack is _gone_ , I don’t-”

Suddenly, Chase stopped talking, seeming shut off abruptly like a radio. Jackie’s face grew concerned as he waved his hand in front of his friend’s blank face. “H-Hello? Earth to Chase Brody, do you copy?”

Chase shook his head and turned several shades lighter than pale. He blinked. Once. Twice. A third time for good measure.

“Don’t look behind you. Whatever you do, do not look behind you.”

“Chase, I don’t-”

**_“He’s here.”_ **

Jackie then went pale as well, and Marvin’s confused face turned significantly less confused as the realization started to kick in.

The voice in all black was here. At the other end of the hallway. He had to be, and if they turned around, they would be in terrible danger.

There was laughter, sharp and painful like a jackal’s. The air was suffocated to the point that all three men were going to gag and choke. Reality shifted and turned on an axis like they were trapped in their own bubble. The thin air distorted ever so slightly. The chills rode up and created goosebumps all along their arms and legs. Still, they dared not to turn around, in fear of coming face to face with the voice in all black.

**_“W҉e͘͞l̴͞l̡,̨͢ ͠i̵t'̴s̶҉ ͟a͜͠ ̢̢p̧ļ̷ȩ͡a̴͘s͢u͜r̡҉ę͝ t̴͏͝ǫ̵ ͢͞m̵̴e̛̕͝e̡̧t̨ ͝y̶o͏̨u̶,̵͝ ̡͞bo̴y̵ş̸.͟ ̷̛I̡͞ th̴ǫ̛͡u̧͢͡g̨h͠͠ţ͡͡ ̴͟y̸͟o҉u͞ ̨̢w͜e̶̢͜r҉̴e̷̡͡ ̵͘s҉m͘ar͠͞te͜r ̴͘t̶͜͝h̨̕a̢̡ņ ̨͘t͢͠o͡ ç҉ome̢̢̛ ̶̢͟h̢͟͢e̴͝r̴̴͝e̸̷.”_ **

His voice echoed off the bland walls and echoed in their ears. There was a tone that just made it seem so off, like a broken record.

**_“B̸҉u͘t͞ ̨͢I̶̕ ͡g҉u͢͝ȩ̛ss t̶̡͡h̕͟at̶ ̸͠҉i̵͟t̢͘'͟͡s͟͝ t҉i̛͞m͡ȩ̷ ͘͝t̨o ͠҉e͘n̴̨d͘ ̵t͘͢͏h̛͏̨i̢͠͠s͝ ̡̨̕ļ̷i̷͞t͢tl͞e̡ ̡gam̷e͏ ͜o͏f͟ ҉͜ḩi̶d̷̸e ̧͠a̸nd͘ ̧͝s̡ȩe̷k͡. S͡͏͡u͜҉̵c̛h ̛͜a̛ s͢h͜͝am͟e̢.̷̷”_ **

In a swift moment, Jackie took an arm of each friend and _ran._ Chase and Marvin were startled by the sudden moment, but they soon caught up to him and they bolted down hallways and around corners. It wasn’t much of a lead though, because the voice was following them, and close behind. They could just hear his laughter. Louder. And louder. Closer. And closer.

They kept running, ignoring the concerned looks of the staff passing them as Chase spotted the entrance to the hospital a strong sprint away. Taking his chances, he broke from the others, sprinting with the last of his strength to shove the door open and grab the handle. He swung around, holding the door open.

“C’mon, hurry!” He yelled, impatiently bouncing in one place, the stress giving him a splitting headache. His eyes darted through the door to see Jackie and Marvin rushing past him, and he was relieved that he could finally slam the goddamn thing behind them.

They all rushed to the car as fast as their legs could carry them and clambered inside. It took several times for Chase to start it because he was fumbling with the keys, but eventually succeeded as the engine roared to life and he pulled out of the parking lot. A window rolled down, and Chase popped out his arm and flipped the bird towards the direction of the hospital before rolling the window back up and accelerating faster.  
______

“Where are we… going?” Marvin asked, hesitant.

“We’re going to Jack’s house. I think that might lead to something more worthwhile and clue-worthy,” Chase responded, not taking his eyes off the road. Jackie and Marvin looked at each other with undying concern before looking their separate ways, avoiding conversation until they reached their destination.  
______

Parking in the driveway, they all got out of the car, Chase taking to the lead up to the front door. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a ring full of keys, choosing one and inserting it into the lock. It clicked open, and he shoved the door open, marching inside. The other two followed close behind him.

What they found at first glance was the whirlwind of a mess right in the front entrance. Papers were scattered all over the floor, a chair knocked down, and even a medium sized dent in the wall. They proceeded with caution, observing every room as best as they could. On the way, they found some letters to someone who seemed important, a cabinet full of medicine, and empty whiskey bottles in another. Weaving their way upstairs, Chase stopped, holding out a hand to signal that the other two do the same.

Then there was the creak of the floorboards traveling above their heads. Someone else was in the house, and they had no idea who it was. Of course, Chase tried stepping ahead, but Jackie stopped him.

“No, I’m not letting you lead,” Jackie whispered. “You’ll get your ass kicked if this person tries to beat you up. Let me take it.”

With an eye roll from Chase, he stepped aside, letting Jackie go to the front. Figuring out their place, they continued up the stairs to the second floor, trying not to make the stairs creak under their _own_ feet.

Once upstairs, they scattered across the level, stepping into different rooms and scouring through them. To their surprise, they actually found more clues. Chase found more medication and doctor’s notes, all written in Henrik’s familiar chicken-scratch. Marvin found a journal, talking about the voice in all black, and Jackie found a whole drawer filled with detailed notes and theories about… something or other. Seemed odd why Jack would keep this kind of stuff in his house.

They met up back in the main hallway to present their newfound information, with Chase squinting his eyes the entire time they were talking. He was piecing the info in his head like lightning, constantly asking again what the other two saw and what exactly they read. In the end, he stepped back and nodded after a brief silence, more to himself than his friends.

“...The voice did this. I know he did. He must’ve caused Henrik to… to slip up and make a mistake, making equipment malfunction or… or something.” His words weren’t very steady, but he continued. “If that’s the case, did the voice… did he take Henrik?” Chase asked, gazing at the other two men like he expected a perfectly logical answer for all of it. Of course, they didn’t, and just gave him shrugs. He cursed under his breath and shook his head, reaching up to fix his hat again-

There was another loud creak coming from the right. Chase spun around, ready to sock the intruder, but Jackie stepped in front of him, holding his arm out. Marvin stared at his hand for a moment, then lifted it up and creating a fire in the palm of his hand, holding it out to guide them down the partially-lit corridor in front of them.

They moved forward.

Flickering flame guided their way towards the source of the noise as the hallway continued to grow darker. Then, at the end of the hall, they saw a single door open, it’s white light splitting through the darkness. The three men continued walking, the beam of light getting bigger.

They were now right next to the door frame, out of sight from anyone that might be in the room. Jackie clenched his fists tightly enough that they started to shake. The flame in Marvin’s hand grew bigger. Chase fixed his hat and assumed the worst.

“On my word,” Jackie muttered. “Three…

“Two…

“...”

“One.”

They all stepped into viewing distance, rushing through the door in defensive stances. It all dropped, though, when they found the horrific scene in front of them.

There was a table, covered in carving tools, along with a small carved pumpkin. Several lights were in front of the table, shining on it like a spotlight. The room was, in actuality, _mostly_ light. But that wasn’t the reason why it was so strange.

It was strange because of the man sitting in the chair, limp and lifeless.

He looked dead, but from a far distance, they couldn’t tell. It was, again, Jackie who walked forward to investigate, looking around for anything suspicious (oh, who was he kidding, there was a possibly dead man right in front of him). When he got closer, he saw that the pumpkin had Pac-man shaped eyes, like the ones you saw in old, old cartoons, and a mustache as well. It looked pretty cute and well made, but he eyes once again drifted back over to the man. He was wearing a mustache, too, and a black bowler hat. He looked cold and pale, and the only trace of prominent color was-

Was that…?

That was blood. Blood, all over the man’s neck, coming from a thin, messily cut slice along the middle of his throat. Jackie covered his mouth and almost threw up, but gagged on his own spit instead. His knee-jerk reaction caused the other two to rush over to him, panicked and worried. When they saw the man, they turned pale.

“I… who is that?” Marvin asked, his voice barely a whisper. Chase just stared. For a very very long time. Jackie gathered himself after almost having a coughing fit.

“I-I don’t know, Marv. He… he looks old, but not… what?” Jackie stopped for a moment, staring at the man again.

There was a lot of staring after that, and not much talk about anything going on around them. The air felt like it dropped in temperature, and that the room seemed to dim and brighten again at random intervals. Time didn’t seem to move as it should’ve in this bubble of a room.

The thin slice on the man’s neck. A sign of **_h̩͖̭̮̬̣͊̄ͤi̠̫̭̓̃ͨs̙͘_ **return to power once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo! That marks the end of Inktober! I'd like to thank the people following it in the JDC Discord Server (before I got my account on here) and for people just getting to the end of it now. But, I hope you enjoy my first (semi) piece of work on ao3! If you did, do the things; kudo, comment, and conspire!


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